A cloud service generally refers to a service that allows end recipient computer systems (thin clients, portable computers, smart phones, desktop computers, and so forth) to access a pool of resources, such as processing resources, storage resources, and/or communication resources (collectively referred to as “cloud resources”). Such cloud resources are part of a cloud that is accessible by users. In this manner, the host (also referred to as a cloud service provider) may, as examples, provide Software as a Service (SaaS) by hosting applications or other machine-readable instructions; Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) by hosting equipment (servers, storage components, network components, etc.); or a Platform as a Service (PaaS) by hosting a computing platform (operating system, hardware, storage, and so forth).
In some examples, a cloud service may be a public service (an Internet-based service, for example) that is generally available to all potential users; such a cloud service is provided by a public cloud. In other examples, a cloud service can be a private service with restricted access that is provided over a private network (a business enterprise network, for example); such a cloud service is provided by a private cloud. In further examples, a cloud service can be a managed cloud service (e.g. on premise or hosted as a virtual private cloud service). Alternatively, a cloud service can be a hybrid cloud service (a cloud service that is a combination of the above).